Occupational Therapy unmasks new learning opportunity thanks to ‘make-up maestro’ Poppy

The learning experience for one health course is a step closer to real-world situations students will encounter, thanks to a colleague from a very different subject area.

In the spirit of collaborative practice, Hair, Make-Up and Prosthetics for the Stage and Screen lent expert hands – those of Technician Demonstrator Poppy Twigger – to their peers in Occupational Therapy.

For the past few months, Poppy has juggled the day job with what they describe as their “biggest creative project” at University of Northampton (UON) – making a life-like silicone mask for a novel teaching experience.

Poppy has created this for Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy Dr Nickey Hardy as part of a new clinical simulation project led by the Faculty of Health, Education and Society.

The mask resembles an older man of Afro-Caribbean heritage, allowing Nickey – whose parents come from Jamaica – to more effectively ‘play the part’ of someone his students may well meet and support during their placements and after graduation.

The idea for this project comes from a similar initiative at CQUniversity in Australia. They followed up with research that found health students’ engagement with their education was boosted thanks to the enhanced ‘life-like’ experience of role-play simulation exercises.

Nickey will don the mask to increase the authenticity of simulated learning scenarios at Waterside campus in the new academic year, giving him ample time to perfect his character.

Poppy talks about creating one of Waterside’s newest ‘lecturers’: “A lot of time has gone into creating ‘Martyn Brown’ – the first name comes from an Afro-Caribbean friend of mine, the last name is a familiar one in Jamaica – unveiling him was a bit nerve-wracking because I wanted Nickey to like it. But I had nothing to worry about as Nickey was clearly delighted with the mask!

“It was a pleasure to work on this project because it showcases the work of our team of professionals, reflects the supportive nature of how we work at UON, and allows us to promote the diverse and inclusive nature of what we do in HMPSS. Our students will go on to work with different people, so they need the broadest experience and skills.

“Feeling confident working with, for example, the hair and skin tones of people from different heritages is a core part of this and something that runs throughout our entire degree.”

On why he became involved with this project, Nickey says: “Simulated activities are a crucial way for our students to get ‘as close to real as possible’ learning opportunities that allow them to develop awareness, empathy and professional practice in class at Waterside.

“My characterisation will be based on a friend of my Dad’s who was like a grandad to us. The mask of ‘Martyn’ may not look exactly like dad’s friend, but the ‘he’ will have just arrived in the UK and have pre-existing health issues. Like my Dad’s friend, he will be a joyous person, the life and soul of any party who loves his reggae and dancing. He will also speak in Jamaican Patois; this difference in communication is one that OT students will meet and need to overcome during their professional practice.”

Kate Ewing, Lead for Clinical Simulation Learning, adds: “Health is fundamentally about people and these simulated experiences will make teaching and learning at University of Northampton as authentic as possible.

“Clinical simulation covers communication and perception, but these learning exercises – novel to some, but increasingly the norm in higher education settings – should also be fun and interactive.

“We aim to take what has been successfully achieved in Australia a step further, for instance, by developing a ‘simulation company’ at UON. This will enable us to further drive forward other innovative health, arts and culture subject areas to encourage greater collaboration between programmes. These are interesting times for teaching and learning at University of Northampton, so watch this space for more about clinical simulation here.”

Find out more about Hair, Make-Up and Prosthetics for the Stage and Screen at UON.

Find out more about Occupational Therapy (undergraduate) at UON.

To find out more about Clinical Simulation at UON, email: kate.ewing@northampton.ac.uk